The lives of more than 2,000 residents of Whitehouse Estate in Diani, Kwale County, are in limbo after County Commissioner Michael Meru announced that work on the government's affordable housing project in the estate would begin in 14 days.
Since late last year, residents of the 24-hour economy town of Diani have been told that their homes will be demolished to make way for the affordable housing projects being implemented in various counties.
More than 500 families currently live in the 500-unit Whitehouse Estate, a residential area just 10 minutes from the beach in Diani.
The estate was built on six acres of land and most of the residents work along the beach road, catering to tourists in resorts and restaurants. Several businesses – from bars and restaurants to supermarkets and grocery shops – have also been set up in the area to serve the residents.
But since the county commissioner's statement and news of tenders for the supply of bricks, sand, cement and other building materials reached residents, they have been a worried lot.
Francis Muthoka says he spends sleepless nights thinking about the day he will find his house and 34-year-old supermarket business in rubble.
“It is almost 40 years since I moved here. This happened when the then municipal council decided to relocate traders along Beach Road to occupy this place. Each trader was allocated land and given an allotment letter from the administration,” he said.
A letter seen by the Nation , signed by the area council clerk in December 1987, shows that those allotted the land were required to pay Sh1 a day and also to build their houses to a specific plan in less than six months.
The following year, he set up his business and called it Whitehouse Minimart and Whitehouse Restaurant in the Maweni A area, which is now known as Whitehouse and has more residents than it did in the 1980s.
“This is just enough evidence of how long I have stayed here legally. I hold all the documents, including an allotment letter of this area,” he told the Nation. He said the arrangement lasted until during devolution, when the rates skyrocketed from Sh600 a year to Sh6,000 a year. They then started paying the new rates.
Tirus Muriku said the residents had already invested heavily in the plots allocated to them, as each person raised money to build their own house.
“Some of us are servicing the loans we took to build these houses. If you demolish and displace us, it will be a great setback for all of us,” he said.
The residents said that while compensation was their last option, the government should also consider the disruption caused by the relocation.
“We have children enrolled in schools; we also have businesses here that have been running. If they insist for us to move from this place then the compensation should consider all these details,” said Agripinna Muchai.
Monika Mutio said residents felt disrespected that they were only informed about the project through various media platforms and not individually.
“We are here, but in the dark. I do not know when my house is going to be brought down. No one has given us a notice or anything that will guide our next move, apart from learning from the news that the project is going to begin in two weeks' time,” she said.
She added that there has been no public participation and that they have had three meetings with different government officials, but nothing has come of them.
“We are just worried that the government does not care about its citizens. The last time we met with the Ministry of Lands [officials], we got intimidated and they told us that there would be no compensation. This is not what we were promised during elections,” she said.
This comes as County Commissioner Meru confirmed that the project will go ahead as planned, and that three more sites in Kwale County have been earmarked for the development of the affordable housing project.
Meru, who heads the committee in charge of planning the affordable housing project, said 10,000 houses will be built at the four sites – Whitehouse, Kwale Survey Camp, Kwale City Housing Scheme and Mabokoni Smart City.
Saumu Beja, the Kwale County Executive Committee member for Lands, said the county government donated the land to the national government for the implementation of the project.
“We not only want the houses to benefit Kwale residents, but the governor has also insisted that every job and tender should benefit the business owners in Kwale,” he said.
Meanwhile, the residents of the busy area now want the government to find another site for the affordable housing project so that their families are not affected.
